Because I have gotten tons of emails over the last few weeks asking about bulking up for gaining muscle, I decided to put this article together in order to clear up the confusion.

Problems of Traditional Bulking Up Methods

Many people who start natural bodybuilding and want to gain serious muscle mass make the big mistake of thinking that in order to get muscular you need to get fat.  As someone who has experimented numerous tactics over the last 2 decades, I can tell you that the strategy of eating like a pig in order to gain muscle will leave you, unfortunately, looking like one.

With the exception of the super fast metabolism of people that are hardgainers, most of us need to focus on consuming quality calories in order to gain muscle.  Furthermore, we cannot consume calories indiscriminately as again, doing so will invariable result in too much fat gain.

The worst is that once guys go over 10% body fat, and girls go over 14% or so, the body’s estrogen levels increase and, as a result, additional calories consumed are more easily stored as fat as opposed to muscle.  Thus, in order to make the best bodybuilding gains, it pays to stay lean.  As a matter of fact, the leaner one is, the easier it is to gain.

How Can I Bulk Up to Gain Muscle Without Gaining Fat

1-Get Lean First: In order to gain muscle at the most accelerated rate by using a clean bulk up method without gaining fat you need to first get lean.  There is no way around this.  If you are not lean enough,  your body simply will turn most of the extra calories as additional fat.

2-Prime Your Body For Gains: You have to remember that your body is an incredible machine who likes to remain in a state of homeostasis.  In other words, the body does not like to change much and will always fight change.  Thus, if you are constantly providing more calories to your body than what it burns, it will build muscle and store some fat.  If you are training hard, most of the gains will be in the form of muscle.  However, the minute your body gets used to your training routine, and also starts to adapt to the diet, your muscle production will go down and fat gain will go up.  And like I said before, after you go past 10% body fat, extra calories get more easily stored.  In addition, the body starts to become insulin resistant as well and that makes further muscle gains harder as well.  The key to priming your body is to diet down.  By following the right calorie restricted, fat burning diet, you get to lose fat, you optimize your insulin sensitivity and you start to prime your body for future muscle gains.  By depriving your body of calories you put your body in a state that it becomes very “hungry” for nutrients.  This is especially true after an extended fat loss period, such as the one prior to a competition.  When the body is “hungry” for nutrients, this is the optimal time to do a clean bulk up phase because when you do, most of the calories, if not all, are re-routed towards muscle production!  Any of you who have done a bodybuilding, fitness or figure show know what I am talking about.  If you are smart, after a show you will go back to the gym, raise your calories, and slowly but surely start upping the intensity as you regain your strength in order to make the best use of this anabolic effect that comes after a period of dieting.

Calorie Cycling – The Secret To Making Muscle Gains While Staying Lean

As you probably figured out by now, a good strategy to accelerate muscle mass gains is to alternate between periods of dieting with periods of bulking up as I propose in my Body Re-Engineering program.  If you are already lean, then you can also implement a strategy that I have used several times with great results where you do mini periods of bulk up cycles with dieting cycles in order to maximize gains while keeping fat gain away.  This mini periods allow you to gain at the fastest rate possible.

Like anything, the body gets used to anything if you keep it long enough, but you can use this strategy of mini bulk up and dieting periods for super accelerated muscle gains for about 6 weeks every six months.  And keep in mind that to get the absolute best results from such a strategy it is best to be as lean as possible.

How to Implement Mini Periods Of Bulking With Dieting

When I use this strategy, I personally, I like to do 2 weeks of high calories using a nutrient split of 50% carbs, 30% proteins and 20% fats followed by a week of lower calories with around 50% proteins, 30% fats and 20% fats.  During high calorie weeks I do 18 x lean body weight in calories and during low calories I do my lean bodyweight times 10.

As far as training, I modify my training to be high volume during the 2 weeks of high calories and lower volume but use heavier weight during my low calorie weeks.  (Please see the routines here: http://www.hugorivera.net/natural-bodybuilding-routine-with-periodization.html / My high volume training is like what you see in weeks 1-3 while my low volume training is what you see on weeks 4-6)

In regards to cardio, on the high calorie weeks I do two sessions of 45 minutes (monday/thursday) first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and during low calorie weeks I up that to 6 sessions a week.

For More Information On This Strategy

I know a couple of natural bodybuilding authors who have done a great job at covering this strategy so if you are interested in a program that makes use of this concept, check out the two free e-books below:

Download the Death of Bulking Here

Download the Anabolic Amplifier Effect Here

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Until next time, take care and train hard!

• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ on The “Anabolic Amplifier” Program
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• Hugo Rivera's Natural Bodybuilding Tips for Gaining Muscle, Getting Lean and Losing Fat while Still Enjoying the Holidays
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In this natural bodybuilding video, IFBB Pro Ben Pakulski and Hugo Rivera talk about bodybuilding training and ways to stimulate more muscle growth with some simple changes on the routine.  Other topics covered are workout length and how much is too much.  This is part 1 of 3.  In Part 2 we cover nutrition and in Part 3 we cover supplementation.

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Bonus: Natural Bodybuilding FAQ With Ben: What Is The #1 Mistake That Kills Muscle Gains?

Bodybuilding Question: Ben, please identify the number one training mistake that would be preventing individuals from achieving maximal muscle gains.

Answer from Ben: Well, we all know “the guy” in the gym that throws a ton of weight on the bar and moves it with terrible form and looks like hes going to hurt himself. He is the root of many of our jokes, and definitely gets a lot of sideways looks from the patrons of the gym.

We’ve all asked ourselves “WHAT is he trying to do?” Chances are, he has no clue. He comes in the gym everyday and does the exact same thing week in and week out because he really has NO IDEA what he is trying to do. Therein lies the problem!

Guess what, more likely than not, you have all been guilty of doing this too at some point in your life (whether you care to admit it or not).

The first thing you need to do is identify your desired goal. If your goal is to build muscle, then you have come to the right place and you should take a minute listen up.

The one and ONLY most important factor that you need to consider when it comes to your quest to build muscle, is TENSION. (more on that in a minute..)

We have all heard people speak about mind-muscle connection, or that you’ve got to really “squeeze” a muscle to make it grow. I don’t know about you, but for most people this is a really hard concept to figure out. Those of us that “get” what it means, still really have a difficult time putting it to action.

The good news is, this is quite a simple concept and I will show you how to apply it to building your muscles literally TWICE as fast.

The Importance of Muscle Tension

Here is what you need to know:

Muscles communicate in terms of tension. They have absolutely NO idea how much weight youre lifting. They only know how much tension or torque is going through them.

What if I told you there was a way to perform more or less ANY exercise so that you could FEEL it EXACTLY where youre supposed to feel it, AND increase muscular tension with LESS weight to get results TWICE as fast in half the time. Sounds pretty cool, right? I’ll explain.

YOU can control exactly how much tension or torque that goes through a muscle you are working at ANY point in the workout.

You have complete control over HOW HARD you squeeze, HOW LONG you work, and most importantly EXACTLY WHERE you squeeze and contract.

You can selectively train EXACTLY the muscle youre supposed to be and not train anything that you don’t want to be.

Every guy out there knows what im talking about. We’ve all don’t bench presses and got NO pump in our chests but our delts and tris were cooked! No more, gents!

Introducing Intention!

I would like to take this moment to introduce to you the revolutionary muscle building technique called INTENTION!

The way I describe intention to people I encounter that are unfamiliar with it is this:

“Intention is the CONSCIOUS INTENT to create TENSION in the muscle”

I know, I know, sounds a little hokey. BUT the fact of the matter is that this is BY FAR the best way to ensure you are maintain tension on the working muscle.

The number one most highly correlated factor with building muscle is “TIME UNDER TENSION”. The longer you can keep tension directly on a muscle, the more you control the rate at which that muscle grows.

You can do a bench press all day long, and if there is not tension in the pecs, you WILL NOT build pecs. Why is it that some people can build great chests while bench pressing while others cant? Because some peoples “genetics” all them to
thoughtlessly keep a greater amount of tension in that muscle!

We now have the ability to do this consciously. The best part is, IT’S EASY!!

INTENTION in Action.

The most simple example of intention exists on the bench press. Grab on the bar in front of you, just like you would on a bench press. You can use any stable surface for this example. I will use the edge of my desk. I grab the edge of my desk about equally as wide as I would on a bench press. Hold on firmly, and without letting your hands move from that
position, “shove” them toward each other. What happened? Your chest contracted didn’t it?

Now imagine doing this exact thing through a range of motion, like in a bench press.

WOW! You just created continuous tension in the EXACT muscle you wanted to! Pretty cool right!?

Get Ben Pakulski’s MI-40 Program Here: http://www.mi-40.com

And by getting it through one of these links you also get:

1) A complimentary copy of my own program “Body Re-Engineering” (valued at $39.99). Combining Body Re-Engineering with MI-40 will give you the most incredible gains in muscle mass and you will have half a year worth of muscle building and fat blasting workouts!

2) A NEVER BEFORE SEEN 120-Minute video that I am putting together on how you can combine the power of Body Re-Engineering and the power of MI-40 in order to get the most explosive gains imaginable! This video is valued at $300 but it is my gift from me to you as my way to say thank you for your support!

Remember that between Body Re-Engineering and MI-40 you have almost half a year worth of unique muscle producing and fat blasting workouts!

Again, please make sure that when you pick up MI-40 you forward your receipt to hugo@hugorivera.net with the title ”SPECIAL BRE OFFER” and I’ll get it sent over to you asap (within 24 hours)! I will then send you also the video as soon as I have it ready (in around 2 weeks from today). I want to make sure that you are taken care off.  And if you are a current BRE customer, please bring it to my attention by putting in the title line Special Customer.  That way I can do something really special for you.

TAKE ACTION NOW ==>
I Am Ready To Get Big and Use The Power of MI-40 and BRE to Get HUGE!

By the way, order today (December 1, 2011) and you also get a FREE REPORT detailing the routine that Ben used to put on 2 inches on his arm prior to the Arnold Classic!  I will be implementing this one next week to see if I can at least get an extra half inch!  This offer will only be available until midnight tonight and Ben says that after he is not even making that book available anymore so the time to get MI-40 is NOW!

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OFFER NOW ==>
Sign Me Up for a Copy of MI-40 (Valued at Over $1300) + Body Re-Engineering ($39.99) + 2-Hour Exclusive Video ($300) for Only $47

(After Friday at Midnight Pacific Time, MI-40 goes up to $77 and there will be no extra bonuses)

• Natural Bodybuilding Video: Hugo Rivera and Ben Pakulski Talk Bodybuilding Training with MI-40
• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ – Can You Follow The Pro Routines and Other Advice?
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• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ – Training Over 40

As I was reading some bodybuilding news online, I came across an interesting article from Ka Leo O Hawai’i, the campus newspaper of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, that reminded me of my days back in engineering school when I learned to be really creative in regards to keeping my bodybuilding diet requirements.

According to staff writer Andy Taylor in his article “Surviving Sodexho; Student Bodybuilders Struggle To Get Proper Nutrition”, it turns out that in the University of Hawai’i, if you live in the college facilities you need to buy a meal plan. Problem is that if you are a bodybuilder, the menu does not really follow your nutritional requirements.

This is not an unusual situation to be in. Hopefully one day all places will have both bad food choices and bodybuilding friendly ones so that everyone is taken care of. In the meantime, you have to get creative and in keeping with the mindset of a successful bodybuilder, you need to look for solutions rather than excuses. A few pieces of advice that I can offer are the following:

What To Do If You Had To Purchase The School Meal Plan

If you are in a situation like the one described on the article mentioned above where you had to purchase the meal plan and do not want to lose your money, try to see if the cafeteria has some sort of lean proteins such as chicken or turkey breasts. These are the protein choices that you need to look for. Since it is all you can eat, see about maybe packing some extra food to take with you for later meals (though some schools do not allow for this).

After you select your protein source, look for the cleanest complex carbohydrates that they may have, such as baked potatoes, and see if you can get some sort of green vegetables as well, if available.

Obviously, college campus’ meal plans will not feed you 6 times a day, as they feed you 2 times at the most, so you will need to get yourself some protein powder, and some old fashioned oats (which are easy to cook in the microwave) for breakfast. For in between meals, you can either use Meal Replacement Powders (MRP), a super convenient Ready-To-Drink (RTD) Shake, or a high quality protein bar to cover your nutritional requirements. If the MRPs, RTD’s or protein bars do not fit your budget, then powdered skim milk (1/2 cup to 1 cup as I used to do in college) mixed with with 1 scoop of protein and 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter will have to do for in between meals.

How To Carry Your Meals With You

The best investment you can make while on school is on a cooler so that you can carry your food, protein drinks and water with you for the rest of the day. That way you do not have to worry about being stuck without food for more than 3 hours. To this day I still use the cooler that I purchased for use during College.

How To Ensure That You Can Be Prepared Everyday

Wake up early! When in college, preparation is key. Make sure that you prepare your meals (the non cafeteria ones) well in advance or the night before so that when the day starts you can just pack things with you and go.

I also suggest you go to the gym at this time as well and get done with your bodybuilding workout so that the reminder of the day all you have to worry about is studying and eating. If you are really pressed for time, take a look at my Short 25-30 Minute Workouts for Busy Bodybuilders, which have you in and out of the gym in about 30 minutes.

Conclusion

As the author of the article mentioned above said: “For bodybuilders, eating choices can be a troublesome hindrance at times, but as long as the athletes are dedicated to their sport, there is always a way to work around it”.  I could not agree more with that statement.

If you find the information of this website useful, please feel free to check out any of my best selling natural bodybuilding and fitness publications here.

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If your current natural bodybuilding routine for biceps is no longer delivering the muscle growth that you need, then it is time for a change.  After all, the best bodybuilding routine is the one that your body has not gotten used to since the body then needs to adapt to it by growing more muscle tissue. But once the body adapts to a workout, then it is time for a change.

In this article, I will disclose a fast and intense bodybuilding biceps routine designed to fry every single muscle fiber on the biceps.

There are 2 bodybuilding techniques that we will be using:

•Pre-Exhaustion: You first do an isolation movement, and once failure is reached in that movement, with no rest you go ahead and perform the basic exercise. Repeat the process for the prescribed amount of sets.

•Supersets: A superset is two exercises performed one after the other with no rest in between them. The rest will only happen after the second exercise is performed.

Now that you know the general structure of the routine, let’s get started.

Bodybuilding Biceps Routine for Shocking the Biceps Muscles into Growth

Superset #1
High Pulley Cable Curls 3 sets of 12-15 reps (no rest)
Dumbbell Curls 3 sets of 8-10 reps (60 sec rest)

We will start by a superset of an isolation exercise, High Pulley Cable Curls, followed by a basic exercise: Dumbbell Curls. The High Pulley Cable Curls are an excellent isolation movement that will cause a powerful contraction on the biceps. After performing this exercise for 12-15 repetitions, then I want you to take some dumbbells and perform 8-10 solid repetitions of alternating dumbbell curls. There should be no rest in between these two exercises so be sure to choose the dumbbells that you want to use before starting. After a one minute rest, I want you to go again for two more sets like this. Keep in mind that because we are pre-exhausting the biceps by doing the cable curls first, you will not be able to use the same amount of weight that you may be used to using for your dumbbell curls.

Superset #2
Incline Curls 3 sets of 12-15 reps (no rest)
Incline Hammer Curls 3 sets of 6-10 reps (60 sec rest)

This second superset will start with the incline curls, which will deliver a powerful stretch of the muscle that will really break down some muscle fibers. Be sure to go all the way down and all the way up in this exercise. Make each movement a calculated and deliberate one; all the way up and all the way down. After 12-15 glorious reps, move on without rest to the incline hammer curls, in which you will do 6-10 reps using the same weight used for the incline curls. Again, practice perfect form when doing this exercise. Once done, rest 60 seconds and start over for 2 more sets.

After doing this bodybuilding biceps routine I guarantee you that your biceps will be screaming for mercy. However, this is the kind of effort that will get you the bodybuilding results that you are looking for.

Natural Bodybuilding Biceps Routine Notes:
1.Train the biceps twice a week.

2.You can do them in conjunction with your chest and triceps, or your back, or your chest and shoulders. For more information on different training splits please take a look below:

Bodybuilding Training Split #1:

Day 1: Chest, Biceps, Triceps

Day 2: Legs

Day 3: Back, Shoulders, Abs

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Start Over

Training Split #2:

Day 1: Chest, Back, Abs

Day 2: Legs

Day 3: Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Start Over

Training Split #3:

Day 1: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps

Day 2: Legs

Day 3: Back, Biceps, Abs

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Start Over

3.  If you have limited time, just do 2 sets per exercise.

Try this biceps bodybuilding routine out for 3-4 weeks before changing it and let me know what you think.

If you find the information of this website useful, please feel free to check out any of my best selling natural bodybuilding and fitness publications here.  Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube page at www.youtube.com/hugoriverafitness.

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I feel that the proper bodybuilding training for kids is extremely beneficial for controlling weight and for health in general.  Even the American Academy of Pediatrics changed their policy (PEDIATRICS Vol. 107 No. 6 June 2001, pp. 1470-1472) regarding this topic by stating that “strength training programs do not seem to adversely affect linear growth and do not seem to have any long-term detrimental effect on cardiovascular health” as evidenced in recent studies.

The evidence that bodybuilding exercise for kids in the form of weight training or even body weight exercises is not a bad idea at all keeps on mounting.  In a great article from the NY Times called The Benefits of Weight Training for Children, the author Gretchen Reynolds does a fantastic job at covering the origins of the “weight training will stunt growth” myth and how this is nothing more than a myth, as growing evidence continues to show.  She also covers some very interesting studies and opinions of leading doctors in the field that show how weight training can be a great exercise to help kids develop better (as the proper supervised exercise will develop muscle, tendon, and joint strength) and remain injury free in sports.  

So my advice to all of you is to get kids involved in the proper bodybuilding exercise plan, especially if your child is overweight. 

Natural Bodybuilding Training for Fighting Weight Issues in Children

Obesity in America has become an epidemic of epic proportions. What is most alarming is that this is not only a case that is limited to adults. Children are getting obese as well. 

According to the Center For Disease Control, 30.3% of children are overweight and 15.4% are obese. Not only does this condition create insecure children, but even worse, it can lead to diseases such as type II diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure and increased risk of heart disease later on in life. So what is a parent to do? 

Advice to Parents

First and foremost the most important thing to do is to provide a good example for children. If the parents do not follow a healthy lifestyle then it will be very hard for the children to follow one as well. If your kid is getting overweight, then you may want to get involved with your child on a bodybuilding program as research indicates that the benefits adults gain from weight training are also gained by kids (1-4). And let us not forget that this type of exercise is great preventive medicine against diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and heart disease. 

Isn’t Bodybuilding Training Unsafe For Children?

First and foremost we are not referring to a competitive bodybuilding program here. We just want the children to become more active by engaging on light weight training exercises, a fun cardiovascular program and a healthy eating plan.

In my case, it was simple to get my son Chad (10 years old) involved as he is always attending bodybuilding shows and his friends think that it is awesome that I compete, so of course he is the one that asked me to get him involved in the activity. 

Doesn’t Weight Training Stunt Vertical Growth? 

This is a myth that I have been fighting for years. In conversations with my grandfather who used to be an Orthopedic Surgeon who graduated from Northwestern University with top honors, he told me that as long as the resistance is not so high that it would cause the bones to become more dense and thus close the epiphysis (the growth area of a long bone) then there should not be any detrimental effects. 

As a matter of fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently changed their policy (PEDIATRICS Vol. 107 No. 6 June 2001, pp. 1470-1472) regarding this topic by stating that “strength training programs do not seem to adversely affect linear growth and do not seem to have any long-term detrimental effect on cardiovascular health” as evidenced in recent studies (5). 

Recommended Bodybuilding Weight Training Workouts for Kids

The weight training component of the bodybuilding formula for kids need only be executed a couple of times a week. In my experience, a full body routine composed of free weight basic exercises works best. The routines below can take a kid from a completely beginner level to an intermediate level. 

Beginner’s Bodybuilding Routine for Kids

Monday/Friday (or any combination that allows a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 3 rest days in between weight training workouts) 

Push-ups (could be done with knees on the floor) 
Squats 
One Arm Rows 
Wide Stance Squats (pressing with heels) 
Lateral Raises 
Calf Raises 
Biceps Curls
Overhead Triceps Extensions
Crunches 
Leg Raises 

NOTES: 

• Perform each exercise for 3 sets of as many repetitions as can be performed with good form. The goal is to do between 15-30 repetitions. 
• Rest 30-60 seconds in between sets. 
• Only use a resistance of 2.5 to 5 lbs on exercises such as one arm rows, lateral raises, biceps curls, and overhead triceps extensions. The other exercises can be used without any resistance as the bodyweight will suffice. 
• Concentrate on ensuring that your kid practices perfect form in each exercise and only allow for an increase in resistance when more than 30 repetitions are performed with abosolute perfect form. 

As your son or daughter shows an interest in getting more advanced, after 8 weeks of the program above more exercises can be incorporated if desired. For most kids however, the beginner program suffices.
Intermediate Bodybuilding Routine for Kids

Workout (A) 

Push-ups (could be done with knees on the floor) 
Squats 
One Arm Rows 
Wide Stance Squats (pressing with heels) 
Lateral Raises 
Calf Raises 
Biceps Curls
Overhead Triceps Extensions
Crunches 
Leg Raises 

Workout (B) 

Incline Dumbbell Press 
Leg Extensions 
Wide Grip Pull-downs to Front 
Lying Leg Curls 
Lateral Raises (performed one arm at a time)
One Legged Calf Raises 
Hammer Curls
Triceps Dips on Bench
Crunches 
Leg Raises 

NOTES: 

• Perform each exercise for 3 sets of as many repetitions as can be performed with good form. The goal is to do between 15-30 repetitions. 
• Rest 30-60 seconds in between sets. 
• You can use a resistance on each exercise that allows for 15-30 good repetitions. 
• Workout (A) can be performed on Monday and Workout (B) can be performed on Friday. Any combination that allows for a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 3 rest days in between weight training workouts will work too. Notice that Workout (B) requires some additional home gym equipment or the use of a commercial gym so if this is not an option, then just stick to the beginner’s routine for the time being. 
• Concentrate on ensuring that your child practices perfect form in each exercise and only allow for an increase in resistance when more than 30 repetitions are performed with abosolute perfect form. 

Precautions

There are certain precautions that must be followed in order to ensure your child’s safety: 

1. First and foremost, before involving your child in weight training exercise, be sure that you understand the form and proper execution of each exercise so that you can teach them appropriately. Otherwise, I would highly encourage you to find a qualified trainer. 
2. Second, before even beginning the weight training program, make sure that you get his/her pediatrician’s clearance. 
3. Third, take a look at my Safety Tips article and make sure that each one of those is being followed in the best manner possible. 
4. Finally, ensure proper supervision at all times during the activity and restrain your child from using loads that they cannot handle. 

Conclusion 
I advice that you make your natural bodybuilding training as a family activity where in that manner, you can supervise and coach your child while at the same time you get your workout in and some family time also.  This is a practice that I have followed with great success as well as some of my good friends who practice bodybuilding and have kids.

If you find the information of this website useful, please feel free to check out any of my best selling natural bodybuilding and fitness publications here.

References

(1) Falk B, Tenenbaum G The effectiveness of resistance training in children. A meta-analysis. Sports Med 1996; 3:176-186 

(2) Ramsay JA, Blimkie CJ, Smith K, Garner S, MacDougall J, Sale DG Strength training effects in prepubescent boys. Issues and controversies. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1990; 22:605-614 

(3) Blimkie CJ Resistance training during preadolescence. Sports Med 1993; 15:389-407 

(4) Faigenbaum AD, Zaichkowsky LD, Westcott WL, Micheli LJ, Fehlandt AF The effects of a twice-a-week strength training program on children. Pediatr Exerc Sci 1993; 5:339-346 

(5) Ramsay JA, Blimkie CJ, Smith K, Garner S, MacDougall J, Sale DG Strength training effects in prepubescent boys. Issues and controversies. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1990; 22:605-614

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Natural Bodybuilding Arms Workout: Build Your Arms for the Summer With This Arms Workout

When people think of bodybuilding, the first thing that comes to mind is big arms.  How many bodybuilders, me included, just started by doing some biceps curls? After all, one of the most common requests bodybuilders get is to flex their arms. And while a great physique is much more than big arms, nobody can argue that all great physiques have equally great arms!

Since I have gotten a lot of requests lately to publish a new arm routine to get the arms ready for summer, I decided to publish one of the latest bodybuilding routines that I have been using to train my arms.

In order to use this routine you will need to incorporate it into a split routine that works both biceps and triceps on the same day. This routine is for intermediate to advanced trainees. If you are an absolute beginner, please refer to the bodybuilding routine presented on my getting started in bodybuilding guide.

Gain Up To An Inch In Your Arms With This Bodybuilding Arms Workout

Without much further ado, here is your bodybuilding routines for great arms over the summer. You will be using trisets and supersets. A triset is composed of three exercises that get performed one after the other with no rest in between. Only after you perform the last exercise on the triset you can rest for the recommended amount of time and start over.

A superset is the same as a triset, except that it is composed of only two exercises.

As you will see, I am offering you three workouts below. I want you to rotate these workouts. So one day you will do Workout (A), another day Workout (B) and another day Workout (C).

Natural Bodybuilding Arm Workout (A)

Triset:
Triceps Pushdowns 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
Concentration Curls 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
Overhead Triceps Extensions 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
(Rest 1 minute between trisets)

Triset:
Incline Dumbbell Curls 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps
Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extensions 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps
Hammer Curls 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
(Rest 1 minute between trisets)

Superset:
Wrist Curls 2 sets of 25-50 reps
Reverse Wrist Curls 2 sets of 25-50 reps
(Rest 30 seconds between superset)

Natural Bodybuilding Arm Workout (B)

Triset:
Triceps Kickbacks 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps
Barbell Curls 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
Triceps Pushdowns with Straight Bar 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
(Rest 1 minute between trisets)

Triset:
Concentration Curls 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps
Triceps Dips on Bench 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps reps
Reverse Barbell Curls 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps
(Rest 1 minute between trisets)

Superset:
Reverse Wrist Curls 2 sets of 25-50 reps
One Arm Dumbbell Wrist Curls 2 sets of 25-50 reps
(Rest 30 seconds between superset)

Natural Bodybuilding Arm Workout (C)

Superset:
Preacher Curls 10 sets of 10 reps
Parallel Bar Dips 10 sets of 10 reps
(Rest 1 minute between supersets)

Triset:
Cable Curls 3 sets of 15-20 reps
Rope Triceps Pushdowns 3 sets of 15-20 reps reps
Barbell Wrist Curls 3 sets of 25-50 reps
(Rest 1 minute between trisets)

Bonus Abdominals’ Routine

As a bonus, here is a nice abs routine that you can do before the arms workout:

Triset:
Leg Raises 3 sets to failure
Bicycle Crunches 3 sets to failure
Crunches 3 sets to failure

This abdominals’ routine took me less than 15 minutes to perform and it proved to be not only a great abdominal workout but also an awesome way to warm-up the body and get it ready for some arm work.

Conclusion

Try out the natural bodybuilding arms routine above and let me know how it worked out for you. You’ll probably have as much fun as I did and will get a great pump as well. The whole thing, counting abs, should take you around 50 minutes, give or take 10.

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This week I answered the following natural bodybuilding question from a teen bodybuilder:

I’m 13, going on 14, and I have not been able to gain steady muscle on my biceps, and my chest, but some cardio and lots of crunches have given me some abs. I try to bench press (bench 70 for 130 body weight) and do a lot of barbell curls, but I’m not seeing any steady muscle gain.
I’m 5’7″ weighing 135-lbs.

Natural Bodybuilding Answer:

At your age that is when muscle gains happen the quickest since your body’s hormonal production (testosterone and GH) is at its highest. All you need now is a good natural bodybuilding program to stimulate muscle growth on your whole body (not only your chest and bis) and a good diet that will fuel the growth.

NATURAL BODYBUILDING MUSCLE GAIN WORKOUT FOR TEENS

Natural Bodybuilding Workout Notes:

* Workout Frequency: You can do this workout 3 days on followed by one day off as I did during my teen years. If you need more time to recover from your workouts, you can train 2 days on and 1 day off picking up the next workout in the sequence on the following training day. Hardgainers do best by training Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday with weekends off.

* Use Perfect Form: Make sure that you use perfect form on all exercises for maximum stimulation and injury prevention. Never sacrifice form in order to add more weight.

* Cardio: 15-20 minutes after workouts. My favorite is the elliptical rider.

* Keep It Fast Paced: Rest 60 seconds in between sets.

Workout (A): Chest/Biceps/Triceps

Chest
Incline Bench Press (alternate with Incline Dumbbell Press every other workout) 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 8 reps
Flat Dumbbell Press (Chest Dips every other workout) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Incline Flyes 3 sets of 12-15 reps (alternate with Flat Flyes every other workout)

Biceps
Concentration Curls (alternate with Preacher Curls) 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Incline Curls (alternate with Incline Hammer Curls) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Hammer Curls (alternate with High Pulley Curls) 3 sets of 12-15 reps

Triceps
Triceps Dips on Parallel Bars (alternate with Close Grip Bench Press every other workout) 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 8 reps
Straight Bar Triceps Pushdowns (alternate with Overhead Dumbbell Triceps Extensions every other workout) 4 sets of 10-12 reps

Workout (B): Thighs/Hamstrings/Abs

Quads
Squats (alternate with Wide Stance Squats) 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 8 reps
Leg Press (alternate with Hack Squats) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Leg Extensions (alternate with One Legged Leg Extensions) 3 sets of 12-15 reps

Hamstrings
Standing Leg Curls (alternate with Lying Leg Curls w/ Toes Out) 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Lying Leg Curls w/ Toes In (alternate with Seated Leg Curls) 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Lunges (alternate with Step Ups) 3 sets of 12-15 reps
(Note: Press with your heels on lunges and step ups)

Abs
Hanging Leg Raises (alternate with Knee-Ins) 4 sets of 10-15 reps
Crunches on Exercise Ball (alternate with Bicycle Crunches) 4 sets of 10-15 reps

Workout (C): Back/Shoulders/Calves

Back
Wide Grip Pull-ups to Front (alternate with Wide Grip Pull-ups to Back) 4 sets of 8-12 reps
(Note: Use Pull-up assist machine if unable to do without help)
Reverse Close Grip Chin-ups (alternate with T-Bar Rows) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
(Note: Use Pull-up assist machine if unable to do without help)
Low Pulley Rows (alternate with One Arm Rows every other workout) 3 sets of 12-15 reps

Shoulders
Dumbbell Shoulder Press (alternate with Upright Rows every other workout) 3 sets of 12, 10, 8 reps
Lateral Raises (alternate with Military Press every other workout) 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Bent Over Laterals (alternate with Rear Delt Machine) 3 sets of 12-15 reps

Calves
Standing Calf Raises (alternate with Calf Press) 4 sets of 8-10 reps
Seated Calf Raises with Toes In (alternate with Seated Calf Raises with Toes Out) 4 sets of 15-20 reps

MUSCLE GAIN NATURAL BODYBUILDING TEEN DIET

Eat every 2-3 hours in order to keep yourself anabolic.

Meal One
1-1/2 cup of dry oats mixed with water
(Morning before school)
1 banana
10 egg whites

Supplements: Multiple Vitamins/Minerals, Vitamin C (1000mg)

Meal Two
(9-9:30 between classes)
2 scoops of Labrada’s Lean Body Mass 60 Protein Blend, with 16 oz of skim milk (this is a GREAT weight gainer). If not then you can do a protein bar as well.
1 TBSP Flax Oil
1 banana, apple, or orange (optional)

Meal Three
(11:30-12:30 Lunch)
1-1/2 cup of bown rice or medium sized baked potato, or sweet potato
2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
6-8 oz of chicken, turkey, or lean fish
Supplements: Vitamin C (1000mg)

Meal Four
(3pm)
2 scoops of Labrada’s Lean Body Mass 60 Protein Blend, with 16 oz of skim milk (this is a GREAT weight gainer). If not then you can do a protein bar as well.
1 TBSP Flax Oil
1 banana, apple, or orange (optional)

Meal Five
(around 6pm)

1-1/2 cup of brown rice or medium sized baked potato, or sweet potato
2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
6-8 oz of chicken, turkey, or lean fish
Supplements: Vitamin C (1000mg)

Meal Six
(around 9pm)
2 scoops of Labrada’s Lean Body Mass 60 Protein Blend, with 16 oz of skim milk (this is a GREAT weight gainer). If not then you can do a protein bar as well.
1 TBSP Flax Oil
1 banana, apple, or orange (optional)

Water Intake: Drink your body weight x .66 in oz of water, spread throughout the day. Your body is mostly composed of water so if you do not drink your daily requirement you may be jeopardizing your muscle gains and also not letting your body get rid of toxins and waste produced by all of the physical activity efficiently.

REST
Also remember to get 8 hours of sleep since your body recovers and grows at night.

Best of luck with your training!

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Today I answered the following natural bodybuilding question:

Natural Bodybuilding Question:

How can I lose fat underneath pecs and increase bench press?

Right now I am 18, weigh about 130 and can bench max 130. How could I increase this and also get rid of the fat underneath pec? Decline? Specific please

Natural Bodybuilding Answer:

In order to lose fat under the pecs you need to lose body fat all over your body. The way to do that is by combining proper weight training with the correct bodybuilding diet and some cardiovascular exercise.

NATURAL BODYBUILDING TRAINING
As far as weight training, short 45-60 minute sessions get the job done. DO NOT think that the longer you work out the more results you will get.

So with that said, I would split my body over 3 days:

Day 1: Chest/Back/Calves
Day 2: Shoulders/Biceps/Triceps
Day 3: Thighs/Hamstrings/Abs

You can rest on the 4th day and then start over.

For chest, try this routine for 4 weeks:

Flat Dumbbell Press 10 sets of 10 reps (rest 1 minute between sets)
Incline Bench Press 2 sets of 12-15 reps (rest 1 minute in between sets)

After 4 weeks do the following;
Flat Bench Press 5 sets of 5 reps (rest 2 min between sets)
Incline Bench Press 3 sets of 10,8, 6 reps (rest 90 seconds)

NATURAL BODYBUILDING DIET
In terms of your diet, you need a plan that will have you eating 6 times a day ideally. Have your breakfast, lunch and dinner with a protein shake in between those. In this manner you feed the muscle while at the same time you increase your metabolism. You will need to create a slight caloric deficit in order to lose fat so you need to watch what you eat. I included a sample diet so that you see what I mean:

Sample Natural Bodybuilding Diet For Men

Meal 1 (7 AM)
1 cup of dry oats mixed with water
1 cup of egg beaters

Meal 2 (9 AM)
Meal replacement packet mixed with water or a protein powder (with around 40 grams of protein) mixed with 40 grams of carbs from cream of rice, grits, or oatmeal.

1 Tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil (Spectrum brand is best)

Meal 3 (12 Noon)
1 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or 1 cup of oatmeal
2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
6-8 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish

Meal 4 (3 PM)
Same as Meal 2

Meal 5 (6 PM)
1 cup of brown rice, or medium sized baked potato, or 1 cup of oatmeal
2 cups of green beans, broccoli or any other desired vegetable
6-8 ounces of chicken, turkey, or lean fish

Meal 6 (8 PM)
Same as Meal 2

CARDIO
Since you are 18 and you seem to have a good metabolism I suggest that you just do 20 minutes of cardio on your off days. Could be anything…walking outside, stationary bike, elliptical machine. Keep your heart rate between 130-140 beats per minute and you are good to go.

Best of luck with your goals!

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When it comes to gaining lean muscle mass, most people think that bodybuilding supplements are the most important part of the equation. However, this could not be any further from the truth. Supplements are just additions to an already good nutrition and training program. Besides determination, nutrition and training are the most important components of a bodybuilding program along with rest and recovery next to them. Once all of those aspects of your program are maximized, then you can start thinking of adding supplements to your program.

Please understand that supplements do not make up for improper training, or lack thereof, or a low quality diet. Supplements are good because they prevent us from getting any nutritional deficiencies. The increased activity levels from your new exercise program will make your body have greater demands for vitamins and minerals, which will increase the probability of you suffering a deficiency without supplementation. Even a slight nutrient deficiency can sabotage muscle growth.

Can’t we get all the nutrients we need from food alone? We cannot rely solely on food nowadays to provide us with all the vitamins and minerals that our body needs because the processing of foods before they get to the supermarket, cooking, air, and even light have already robbed your foods of most of the vitamins that they have to offer. If you are deficient in one or more nutrients your body may not be able to build muscle and burn fat properly. In addition, because as you will soon find out, bodybuilding nutrition requires several feedings per day, some supplements can make it more convenient for us to accomplish that.

As a teenager who practices bodybuilding, I would focus my bodybuilding supplements program on:

• A good set of multiple vitamins and minerals to avoid any nutritional deficiencies.

• A good protein powder to take in between real meals so that it is easier and more convenient for you to increase your protein to the levels that you need. A good tub of high quality protein like Pro V60 will do the trick. If you need to gain weight however because you are a hardgainer (a person with a fast metabolism who has issues gaining weight) then I would go for a high quality weight gainer that is low in sugars and that has a variety of fast released and slow released proteins like Lean Body Mass 60.

• A couple of tablespoons of good fats such as flax oil in order to cover your essential fatty acids needs. You can add these to your shakes.

I would save the creatine, and other more advanced supplements, for later on in your bodybuilding journey, once you have achieved some pretty solid bodybuilding gains.

Definitely, stay away from any testosterone boosting supplementation. Right now (since you are a teenager) your body naturally produces a ton of anabolic steroids (testosterone and growth hormone mainly) that will greatly help you in your quest to build muscle rapidly while losing body fat. Anything that you do trying to further boost your testosterone production may do the exact opposite. Save testosterone boosters for when your body starts to slowly decline in testosterone production, which is around 25 years old. However, research shows that 3,000 mg of Vitamin C lower cortisol levels (a muscle wasting hormone that does the exact opposite of what testosterone does) so 1000mg of Vitamin C at Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner will actually help you in your quest to a more muscular body.

The supplementation program above, in conjunction with a good bodybuilding diet, a good training program based off from basic exercises, rest (yes, you need at least 8 hours of sleep each night) and the determination to execute your bodybuilding program day in and day out will take you to where you want to be.

Convenient Supplements

If budget allows instead of a 5-lb protein tub, you can opt for easier to carry and more convenient items like Protein Bars, Meal Replacement Powders or Ready-To-Drink Shakes. Labrada Nutrition offers several top-notch bars, meal replacement powders and ready-to-drink shakes in their Lean Body line. These not only offer great nutrition, but have a taste to match as well. However, convenience comes with an added cost so if budget is tight, simply carry the servings you will need of your protein powder individually sealed in a Ziploc ® bag in your cooler and mix them with water or milk when it is time to consume. You will need a shaker bottle for this but high quality proteins these days are instantized and therefore mix rather easily.

To find out more information and how to save up to 50% on bodybuilding supplements: click here

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